


The Wicca

by cheersilldrinktothatbro



Series: The Wicca [1]
Category: Original - Fandom, The Wicca
Genre: AndACutie, Bargains, Magic, MoreToCome - Freeform, Spellbook, WeStanStrongFemaleCharacters, Witches, WorldbuildingIsFunY’all, YeahThere’sSomeTarotCardStuff, city, cora - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-12 01:12:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19218604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheersilldrinktothatbro/pseuds/cheersilldrinktothatbro
Summary: Some slightly classist North American witches play a really intense game of Go Fish.





	The Wicca

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at novel length fic, please be patient and constructive my bros. I’ll be adding a new chapter every Friday, let’s see if I can get make it to 70,000 words.👏👏👏

The simple melody echoed between the two buildings, the only sound on an otherwise quiet morning. Bum-bum-bum-one-two-three, the notes carried through the alleyway and onto the empty boulevard, wrapping themselves up, around skyscrapers and dimming street lamps before floating back down to bury themselves deep within the cracks of the crumbling sidewalk. Only to be interrupted by the sound of a pair of anxiously tapping sneakers. Sneakers that hadn’t stopped fidgeting for the past half hour.

Cora couldn’t help it. If she was nervous thirty minutes ago then she was practically neurotic now, her shaking fingers seemed to dance over the crumbling piano keys of their own accord. They stumbled over a broken key with a forceful clunk and she swore softly, sparing a quick glance up at the dark windows above her. No movement, good. She needed these people to stay fast asleep or, at the very least, away from their windows this morning. Something told her that whoever she was meeting with wouldn’t want any witnesses to their deal. Clearly, she thought, glancing around the shadowy, abandoned alleyway. Absolutely littered with trash, this was the ideal place for someone who didn’t want to be seen. Or someone who didn’t want to be caught.

She shook out her trembling fingers, willing herself to relax. She had plenty of time to wait and- she patted her front pockets- more importantly she still had her end of the bargain. The girl closed her eyes tight, determined to focus on just the one slow note after the other. She pictured those warm hands with their gentle touch she remembered so well on the keys next to her, bum-bum-bum-one-two-three, and began to breathe a little easier. Cora sang along softly with the memory, “See the moon with her light-”

From behind her back, a hoarse whisper took up the rest. 

“Doth patient nature highlight.  
Let it see not what may fall.  
Only the strength I summon tonight.”

She felt a hard grip curl over her shoulder and whirled her head around only to find herself inches away from a tight lipped sneer. The man took a step back, looking Cora up and down. A teenage girl hunched over a trashed instrument, long black hair a mess and eyes shining in fear. “Where’s Iris?” he hissed.

Cora stammered, she hadn’t expected him to ask, hadn’t expected him to care. “She-um, I was sent for this one.”

“Uh huh. Well word of advice, don’t play protection wards on strangers’ trash. It’s real life now, little girl. Time to fucking act like it.”

She sat frozen, stunned. Did he- How could he have recognized one of her mother’s wards? “Did-did you bring the, the-”

He gave a low chuckle. “Yeah, I brought it. But you guys have never asked me for one of these before. Mind telling me why you need it so bad?” He dug through the fraying knapsack slung across his shoulder and Cora couldn’t help but notice the bright blue of one of his eyes next to the deep brown of the other as they darted around from inside his bag to the alley corners, constantly moving. He grunted, pulling out what looked like a bent-up playing card, careful to only show the back side of it to Cora. “Hm?”

“Oh. Uh, you know. General card stuff. That we sometimes do…”

He let out another long, barking laugh. “Iris is way better at this.”

Cora’s face flushed red, “Yeah, I know.”

His laughter eventually faded and his eyes softened. “This is a Carde,” he began to explain, taking a step closer. “Maybe the shittest piece of magic in the entire city. But if you’re clever enough, you can know a perfect stranger with just a flick of the wrist.” He suddenly dropped the card, letting it slowly float to the ground where it landed face down just inches away from Cora’s feet. He stooped to pick it back up and, after a minute of concentration, a smile lit up his face. “Nice to meet you, Cora.”

She gasped, suddenly curious about this innocuous thing she’d been sent for “You learned my name, from a card trick?! Can it do anything else?”

“Guess you’re just gonna have to find that out for yourself,” He said with a wink. “Aren’t ya’ sweetheart?”

She took the hint, reaching into her pockets and pulling out three small black healing crystals. “Here. I think this is the usual price.” 

He stepped forward and snatched the crystals as if they might disappear from her hand. As he moved out of the shadow, Cora was able to see him clearly for the first time. He stood a little taller than her, with a rough, leather jacket partially obscuring his skinny frame. His eyes gleamed a little brighter in the light, contrasting the long black hair that fell down to his shoulders. 

“Hmm. Yeah girly, this was usual price.”

Cora sighed, but she knew to come prepared for this. Well, had been told to come prepared for this. She pulled out another three crystals and, without any reaction from the man, pulled out a scrap of paper with a meticulously written sigil on it. He gave a low whistle and finally nodded, grabbing the items from her outstretched hand. 

“Before I go,” He said, stuffing the items into his bag, “Any chance you could give me your bosses name?” 

“Who says I’m working for anyone?”

“Come on,” He reached into his bag again, slyly pulling out another Carde. “I’d owe you big time.”

Cora firmly shook her head. He shrugged, putting it away. She’d been warned about this. They’d always ask, but give away a name and you might as well be giving away 3,000 crystals. Or something much more.

“Thought as much. See ya’ around, Coralini.” He turned towards the empty street, pausing one last time off to flick the first Carde onto the ground. It landed face down once again, directly on top of her sneakers.

She scrambled to pick it up. On the back was the design he had already showed her, but when she looked closer, Cora could see it was actually made up of hundreds of ancient words flowing together in spirals that swirled around the back. She flipped it over and gasped. She saw a gorgeous woman in a long, blue robe, wearing a horned crown on her head and perched on a throne. To her left stood a large black column marked with the letter B and to her right was a similar white column marked with the letter J. Behind her, a tree with what looked like pomegranates hanging from its branches swayed in the wind. At the seat of her throne the words “High Priestess” were written in neat flowing script.

“What the actual fuck?” Cora whispered, mostly to herself. She flipped it over once, twice, three times. Was she missing something? She had been sent weeks ago, traded all that, for a glorified queen of spades?

She jammed it into her pocket with a huff and began walking back towards the street, giving the piano a small goodbye tap on C.

She kept her head down, still a little distracted and almost didn’t see the dark figure that peered around the corner until she collided with them. “Shit, Rose!” she nearly screamed.

A cute, curly black haired little girl stepped out onto the sidewalk, smiling up at Cora.

“What are you doing here? He could’ve seen you! You were supposed to stay home!”

“Yeah, and I did.” The girl smirked “For a little bit.”

“Uh-huh. Come on.” Cora rolled her eyes, grabbing the girl’s arm and pulling her down the street. 

“But Coraaaa!” She whined. “If you saw your older cousin sneaking out of your bedroom in the middle of the night what would you have done?”

“Gone back to sleep.” Cora replied. And that was probably true.

“I was literally just watching! I was curious!”

Cora stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, bending down to look the girl in the eye, “That was dangerous!” She snapped. “What would your Mom say if she knew you were that close to a non-Wicca deal?”

“You looked scared.”

Cora scoffed. “I wasn’t scared! It was all a negotiation tactic, you know those people, I was totally in control the entire time. If anything, he was the scared one.”

“I was talking about when you ran into me.”

“Oh.”

The pair walked back through the city, Cora leading the way. They mostly stuck to the less crowded streets, winding through shops just opening their doors and the occasional sleepy commuter. Every few blocks they would pass old graffiti, always the same. Squiggly black symbols on a concrete surface, painted over by a lurid red bonfire and one word, always the same word, “Burn”. Cora would clutch Rose’s hand a little tighter as they walked past each of them.

The little girl looked like she had a million questions about what happened, but knew her cousin far too well to ask. Cora was distracted with questions of her own, and as they made their way back to her aunt’s apartment, she couldn’t help but keep a protective hand over her front pocket.


End file.
